90-Day Challenge: Why do it?

Oops, I guess this is the kind of thing I should have written at the beginning of the challenge, not in the middle. But I've been thinking about it as I have gotten behind in my reading and worked to catch up. Why do it? Why keep it up? Why encourage others to join me?

First off, let me be very clear: I am NOT doing this as some kind of religious exercise. Nor am I encouraging others to do it as a religious exercise. I am not looking to give myself or anyone else a pat on the back at the end of it all and say, "Look what I did! Aren't I great?" Ugh. I hate that tendency in me and am desperately trying to move away from that. That's not the point of this whole thing, and that's not what keeps me going.

If I was going to give myself a pat on the back, I would have already done so, because if the truth be told, I've already read through the Bible in 90 days. That's how I know that it is possible. So if I've already done it, why do it again? One of the reasons is because I believe it's an important principle in leadership. It isn't right to ask someone else to do something that you're not willing to do yourself. So if I'm challenging others to read the Bible in 90 days, I'd better be doing it right along with them. And I am. Are you finding it difficult to keep up? Me, too. You have questions about what you just read? Me, too. If you've read through parts of the Bible before, are you wondering how you missed certain instructions or stories? Yep, me, too.

I must confess: I am absolutely fascinated with the Bible. That wasn't always the case for me. Actually, I became more fascinated with it as I grew in my relationship with its Author. Every time I read it, He speaks to me and shows me things I never noticed before. I've read lots of books multiple times, but the Bible is alive in a way those other books are not. Maybe you're reading this and thinking I'm crazy, or you're questioning my statement about the author part. That's okay--if that's the case, then please leave a comment or contact me with your questions. I am not out to argue or beat anyone over the head with what I believe. I am ever in pursuit of truth and am simply happy to share what I've discovered in my journey.

So why did I choose the 90 days for this reading adventure? One, that is how long it took me the first time I purposed to read the entire Bible cover to cover. Also, cramming a large project into a small deadline was something that I learned to appreciate when I participated in the National Novel Writing Month a few years ago. Writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days doesn't leave you any time to obsess about the details. I figure the same is true with reading through the Bible in a short amount of time--it helps to move things along and to see more of the bigger picture. Now don't get me wrong; I believe it is very important to study the details of the Bible, especially if you claim to be a Christian. But we have this tendency to pull out verses without seeing them in the larger context of the entire Bible. When you read through the entire book, you can start to see the themes and connections between all its various parts.

So there you have it. If you're thinking that it's too late to participate, I say, "No way! Come join me!" You can always go back and read what you've missed. I don't think it's ever too late to read the Bible.

Eight Days In

So the first week of the 90-day Bible-reading challenge has passed. It's a lot of reading in a short amount of time, but I find that this helps me focus on the major themes and the bigger picture. I'm not sure who all has joined me on this little adventure--if you haven't joined yet, why not now? You can always go back and catch up on the books/chapters you missed at the end.

So what caught your attention as you read this week? What surprised you? What did you like? What did you not like? These are the kinds of questions I was hoping to ask the people who joined me in reading, but I don't know who took me up on my challenge (except one). I guess that means I'll share this time. Maybe next week some other readers will come forward and share their own discoveries.

What impressed me as I finished Exodus was how God was fulfilling His part of the covenant with Abraham. Abraham was promised many descendants who would be slaves in Egypt for a time. Then God would bring them out of Egypt and back to the land that Abraham was living in at the time. So at the end of Exodus, we see God guiding hundreds of thousands of Abraham's descendants toward their Promised Land. He has been working for hundreds of years to keep His end of the bargain. And now in Exodus, we also see God instructing the people how to keep their end of the covenant.

There are lots of extra materials out there to explain what covenants are and how they operate. One that I have found extremely helpful is "The Blood Covenant" by E. W. Kenyon. It has an excellent illustration of a "modern" blood covenant, which sheds some light on the covenants in the Bible. I recommend reading it, although if you're pressed for time you may want to wait until the 90-day challenge is over.

That's all for now. Good success to all on week #2 of the challenge!

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."--Heb. 10:24 (NIV)